Ondaatje said: “When I came upon that long-ago notebook years later — that was the first time I realised and recognised its influence on a scene in The English Patient.”
Ondaatje, who lives in Toronto, said that he chose the University of Texas for his archive following a visit to the Ransom Center.
He added: “During those early stages of handwriting the novels, I sometimes need a few visual breaks along the way.
Ennis called Ondaatje a “master stylist” in both poetry and prose.